


Delirium

by KlivianJade



Category: Star Wars Legends: New Republic Era - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-30 05:43:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13944105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KlivianJade/pseuds/KlivianJade
Summary: I know it has been a long time, but I haven't given up on my other fics. I'm just having a difficult time focusing, but once I started this, I had the first chapter finished in no time. Let me know what you think!-KlivianJade





	1. First Symptoms

**Author's Note:**

> I know it has been a long time, but I haven't given up on my other fics. I'm just having a difficult time focusing, but once I started this, I had the first chapter finished in no time. Let me know what you think! 
> 
> -KlivianJade

de·lir·i·um  
dəˈlirēəm/  
noun

an acutely disturbed state of mind that occurs in fever, intoxication, and other disorders and is characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence of thought and speech.  
synonyms:  
derangement, dementia, madness, insanity.

 

\-----

 

Somewhere between transport parking and the main entrance to the NRI building, a torrential downpour soaked Mara Jade down to her very bones. 

"Fracking hell." She grumbled as she passed through the door out of the monsoon. As she squeezed water from her hair she thought that this was fitting. She didn't want to be here in the first place but when you are already on planet and receive a summons to an intelligence meeting, it's best to comply. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing responsible for her sour mood this morning. Her skin had been crawling since she left her apartment. Something was going to happen today, she just knew it. 

She entered the main conference room, still feeling like a drowned womprat even though she stopped by the fresher in a vain attempt to dry off. 

"You're fifteen minutes late Miss Jade." General Crix Madine stood with a sour look on his face. Mara was convinced it was the only facial expression the old man could make.

"Crazy weather we're having." She replied in an off handed tone. 

"It's no inconvenience Miss Jade, we are still waiting on one more arrival. In the meantime why don't we sit and discuss the nature of this meeting." Airen Cracken stood and half bowed in greeting. He was being overly diplomatic but Mara knew he was just itching to pick her brain apart. 

She took a seat at the massive table and took notice of a face she actually didn't want to smash into a duracrete wall: Iella Wessiri. Mara respected the woman and had even spent time with her during the Smuggler's Alliance gig. The knot in her stomach relaxed just a fraction. 

"So what is it you want with me Generals? I'm assuming this isn't a friendly gathering." 

Cracken was the first to speak up.

"We need some intel involving some very dangerous people. I believe you might have the information we need to --"

"And if I say no?" She cut him off. She already knew where this was going. 

"It would be in your best interest to hear us out before making a decision." 

Mara could barely contain an eye roll at the sound of his empty threat. She could break every bone in his body in a matter of minutes and everyone in this room knew it. 

She crossed her arms over her chest and relaxed further into her seat as a door opened to her left and in walked Skywalker. She let out a huff of frustration at the sight of him. 

"Master Skywalker, it's nice of you to finally join us." Madine must be a stickler for punctuality, she thought. 

"Apologies General Madine, General Cracken, Agent Wessiri. Crazy weather we're having." At that, Mara couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped her. 

As Luke took his seat beside her, his eyes sparkling pools of curelean, she briefly wondered if his presence would make this meeting more or less painful.

General Cracken walked over to the holoviewer and pressed a few buttons and sixteen different faces appeared in front of them. The majority of these faces were familiar to Mara. Several of them she knew to be deceased, having taken care of them herself. The faces belonged to the sixteen Black Sun criminals released from Kessel after the battle of Endor in an attempt to cause unrest on the capital of the core worlds. 

"Is this supposed to mean something to me, General?" Her emerald eyes narrowed into vicious slits. 

"Don't play that game with us Jade." Madine growled slamming down his hands on the table in front of her, his nose inches from hers. "I think you know plenty about the Black Sun crime syndicate." 

Never one to back down, she matched his glare with a fiery intensity. In the blink of an eye, she had him pinned against the wall using the force. 

"Maybe you should ask nicely General." She snarled, making his title sound like an insult. 

Seconds passed in complete silence, Mara's anger filling the room before a set of rough hands grabbed her shoulders and drug her out of the room. She stole one last glance at the old General stuttering on the floor before she was thrown out in the hallway. 

Standing, it barely registered in her brain that a very angry Skywalker was walking towards her. She was so stunned by his barbaric behavior that she didn't even put up much of a fight as her pinned her against the wall with his arm across her throat.

She finally regained the ability to speak as she gave him a shove.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Saving you from doing something incredibly stupid." 

Seeing how that little stunt had attracted quite an audience, Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty conference room and locked the door.

She didn't give him the chance to speak before she turned on him.

"Will you stop man handling me?" She questioned. "Some women may be into that but not me farmboy." 

He hung his head and ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.

"You'll be lucky if I can convince him not to file charges on you, but if you had injured him Mara, they would have locked you up and dug the information out of you without asking. I can't let you ruin your life like that." 

He finally met her eyes.

"Not to mention you were tapping into the dark side and we both know it."

A look of regret passed across her face before she regained her composure. No one had ever cared like that before. She didn't know what to say. 

Before she could form an intelligent sentence he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 

"Just take a few minutes to calm down. I'll go do damage control. Just...just try to be open minded about this."

She gave him a quick nod as he exited the door and then began to gather her emotions and pack them nice and neat in the back of her mind. The crawling sensation returned to her skin and a chill passed through her. She did a quick inventory of her surroundings, searching for any potential threats with the force. She came up empty and credited the sensation to her lack of sleep the previous night. 

Finding a chair nearby, she sat in the dark room and waited for Skywalker to return.

\---

The rest of the meeting passed without incident; Madine made a brief, albeit forced, apology for antagonizing her and agreed not to press charges in exchange for the transfer of vital information Mara had regarding the members of Black Sun who were still living. That was the deal Skywalker was able to get her and it was a crummy one at that. She made a mental note to work on his negotiation skills at her next available opportunity. 

She made a bee line for her speeder, thankful that the rain had at least stopped. 

"Mara, wait!" Luke called, sprinting towards her. "I wanted to apologize again for earlier-"

"It's fine." She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Thank you for stopping me."

She was just about to comment on his lack of negotiation skills when she began to cough. Hard. Mara hadn't been sick since she was a small child, so she was startled to hear the rattling sounds coming from her own body.

Luke began to gently pat her back while she got her breathing under control.

"Maybe you should go to a medcenter." His hand switched from patting to rubbing small circles on her back. "That doesn't sound good."

She shook her head. 

"I think I'll just go back to my apartment and sleep it off. It's probably just a cold. Catch you later farmboy." She squeezed his shoulder before climbing in her speeder and taking off. 

Luke watched her leave, deciding to check on her later this evening.


	2. Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is up now! Enjoy!
> 
> -KlivianJade

The trip back to her apartment was a struggle to say the least. Mara fought to stay alert as a sudden weariness took over her body. It briefly crossed her mind that a trip to the medcenter didn't sound like such a bad idea before she quickly pushed the thought away. She mentally took inventory of her symptoms as she swerved out of oncoming traffic.

Headache. Exhaustion. Soreness. Gods, everything hurt. 

"Rest. You just need rest." She repeated the mantra until she saw her building.

She managed to haphazardly park the speeder on the balcony's small docking bay before dragging her aching limbs through the living room access door. 

Not even bothering to check the messages blinking on the com center as she stumbled past, Mara landed face first on the bed.

'Just a few hours of rest and I'll be fine' was the last thought that flitted across her consciousness before she gave in to sleep.

\---

She was pulled out of her slumber by an onslaught of noises. She identified the loudest as the door chime and let out a groan. Her head was throbbing in time with her pulse. Her eyelids cracked open to see the numbers on her crono. 

'I slept for five hours?!'

Slowly sitting up, Mara reached for her comm and silenced the incessant chirping. 

'Better. But what is-'

It was then that she realized the last sound, a rapid tapping of sorts that was her own teeth chattering. She was freezing. 

Throwing a blanket over her shoulders, she drug herself out of the master bedroom and down the hall. The door chimed once more.

"I'm coming!" She yelled. That action made her head feel like it would burst and by the time she keyed open the door, she was out of breath.

Standing before her with a bag of takeaway in his hand and a look of extreme concern on his face, was Luke Skywalker. 

"What do you want, farmboy?" It came out as a whisper and she leaned against the door frame for support.

"Mara, you don't look well." He spoke. "I tried comming and I brought you some soup...but it looks like you might need actual medical attention." His worried eyes searched her face.

"I'm fine. I told you I was going to sleep it off." A shiver ran up her spine before she could stop it. Why was it so damn cold?! 

"At least let me come in for a minute." He bargained with her.

"Fine." 

As painful as it was to watch her hobble over to the couch, Luke stopped himself from picking up and carrying her. She may be sick but she would still try to vape him if he pissed her off.

He set the bag on the dining room table and watched her curl into a ball on the sofa, cocooned in a nerf hair blanket. 

"Thermostat must be broken." She mumbled as she tried to get the shivering under control.

"No, it's working." He crouched down beside her. "Let me check for a fever."

He didn't give her a chance to protest before he placed his palm on her forehead.

"Force, Mara! You're burning up!" He stood quickly. "Where is your thermometer?" 

"Bathroom."

Her eyes were closed now but Luke knew she was still conscious. He rummaged through the bathroom's only cabinet before returning to the living room. He placed the sensor on her forehead and waited for the device to beep before checking the readings.

"That can't be right." Luke mumbled as he reset the device and waited for it to scan again. '105? That can't be right!' he thought as he read her temperature for the second time.

"Hey, Mara?" He gently nudged her and one eye opened halfway. "We need to call a medic...your fever is too high and you are barely even lucid." 

She caught bits and pieces of Luke's conversation with the medevac on the comm but things were beginning to slur together. The room became a jumbled mess of colors before it shifted into a scene that she was once familiar with. 

She was still in the Imperial Palace but everything was sterile and cold. Just like it was before the New Republic took over. She recognized the classified intelligence room, to which few had access. Standing before the terminal, she was about to input her clearance codes when she was jerked back into the present. 'That was one hell of a flashback' she thought.

She tried to lift her head as Luke put down his comm and once more crouched in front of her. 

"A medic is on the way with a 2-1B. He said to place a cool washcloth on your forehead. It will take about ten minutes for them to get here."

"No." she protested. "Im fr-freezing." 

"You have to Mara. Your fever is too high." He sat beside her on the couch. "Can you sit up?"

She nodded as she slowly sat up and Luke began to untangle her limbs from the blanket. The worried expression never left his face as he checked her over. He didn't even bother being subtle about it. It would have been touching, had she not been borderline hallucinating. 

He went back into the bathroom for a moment and returned with a cool washcloth. She reached out to take it from him.

"You don't have to stay. I'll be fine." She placed the rag over her eyes and tried to ignore the shivers that wracked her body. 'Get a grip Jade! It's probably just some stupid cold.' She mentally berated herself. 

"You aren't exactly in any shape to get rid of me Mara." 

She was just about to argue with his last statement when she felt a burning in her throat, throwing her into another violent coughing fit. Only this time when she pulled her hands away from her mouth, they were stained bright red. 

Acting quickly, the Jedi grabbed the washcloth and wiped the small amount of blood from the corner of her mouth before wiping both of her hands. 

"Where is that damn medic?" He grumbled, looking at his crono. 

Two more agonizing minutes of Luke watching her chest rise and fall passed before the door chime sounded. He hurriedly ushered in the middle aged medic and a 2-1B medical droid, not bothering with pleasantries. 

Luke listed off her symptoms as best he could while the droid took vitals and a small blood sample from Mara. He kept out of the way and waited for someone to speak.

"Her internal temperature is 106.4 and rising. We need to move her to the medcenter now. 2-1B is testing her blood for infections but I'm afraid we can't do much more for her here." The medic looked at him, as if waiting for his permission. "Master Skywalker, this is quite serious. We need to move her now." 

Luke gave the man a nod, trying to control the maelstrom of worried thoughts threatening to take control of him. 

Spotting her forgotten comm laying on the floor by the couch, he put it in his pocket and moved to help Mara get up.

"Let's go."

\---

Mara slipped in and out of consciousness during the ride to the medcenter. Luke stayed by her side, listening to her mumble coordinates he wasn't familiar with. He got the feeling he was only hearing one side of a conversation, judging by the way her eyes focused on the space beside him when she spoke.

Much to his disappointment, he was kicked out into the waiting room as soon as they arrived, with only the promise that he could see Mara as soon as they got her settled in.


	3. Loose Lips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Here we go with Chapter 3, fingers crossed that I can keep writing at a steady pace. Enjoy!
> 
> -KlivianJade

Luke sat in the empty waiting room for what felt like an eternity. He had just started to pace the room for the hundredth time when the comm in his pocket chirped. He briefly considered silencing the communication device but decided against it. Only those whom Mara trusted had access to her personal comm.

"Skywalker." He cringed almost as soon as the word left his mouth. 

"Skywalker? Where is Mara? I've been trying to reach her since this afternoon." It was Karrde.

He hadn't even thought to contact her boss and most trusted friend.

"I'm at the medcenter. I have Mara's comm-"

"Medcenter? Is she injured?" The man's worried tone projected through the comm.

"She's sick. I don't know much more than that. I went by to check on her after the meeting with NRI and she was running a fever and barely conscious. I didn't have a choice but to bring her here." 

"The Wild Karrde just landed about an hour ago. I'll head right over." 

And with that, the Master Trader ended the call.

\---

The doctor assigned to Mara was an older man with silver hair and deep wrinkles, no doubt caused by the disturbing things he had seen throughout his career. Luke only hoped that he had good news.

"Master Skywalker." The man greeted him with tired eyes. "I am Doctor Torlov. I was brought in to examine Miss Jade." He motioned for Luke to sit. "Our 2-1B tested the blood sample provided upon arrival for any known pathogens or infections that may cause the symptoms exhibited by the patient, but so far we have not been able to form a diagnosis. We have managed to stabilize her body's internal temperature at 105.3 but it is only a matter of time before the medicine wears off and her fever spikes again. I assure you that we are working diligently to form a plan of action but until we discover the cause for this illness, all we can do is treat the symptoms." His features softened before he added, "I must warn you that when dealing with internal temperatures this high, there is always the risk of damage to the brain."

Luke exhaled a shaky breath as he sat back in his chair.

"Can I see her?" 

Doctor Torlov seemed to carefully think this over for a few seconds before responding.

"Of course Master Skywalker but I must inform you that due to the fever, Miss Jade has been experiencing hallucinations. She has brief moments of clarity, but do not be discouraged if she doesn't recognize you."

All Luke could do was numbly nod in response. 

"When you are ready, a nurse will show you to her room. I'm going to check on some tests I ordered for Miss Jade." 

And with a small bow, the doctor took his leave. 

\---

Luke was quickly reminded of why he hated medcenters as he followed the nurse along a sterile, lonely hallway. They stopped at the door to Mara's room.

"Miss Jade is very sensitive to light and sound at the moment, so try to keep her comfortable." The nurse returned to her station, leaving Luke standing alone at the door. Taking a deep breath, he went inside.

She lay motionless in the bed, the thin blanket carefully tucked around her. Her fiery locks were the only source of color in the white washed room. He sat down in the chair at her bedside and watched her breathe. He didn't want to disturb her but couldn't resist taking her hand in his. Her fingers twitched against his and he drifted off to sleep with his head resting on the bed next to her arm.

\---

He was awakened by Mara's screams.

Luke was instantly on his feet, searching for the source of her pain. 

"Mara, what's wrong?!" He tried to keep the panic out of his voice.

She gasped a single word in between screams. 

"Burning!"

Dr. Torlov came barreling in the room followed by a nurse and Talon Karrde. One glance at the monitors and he was giving orders to his nurse.

"She's at 106.9. Push the meds and bring in ice. A lot of it. Hurry."

He shined a light into each of Mara's eyes, having to hold down her flailing limbs in order to do so.

The nurse returned and quickly administered the fever reducing drug. Mara's body quickly began to relax, her temperature dropping slightly. 

"That's not enough." The doctor huffed as he began to remove the blankets covering Mara. "Where is that ice?" 

Several nurses came in carrying buckets of ice. He grabbed one and began to pour it over Mara's legs and waist, causing her to shiver violently.

Luke stood against the wall next to Karrde and tried to stay out of the doctor's way, fighting the urge to do something. He felt just as useless as the Master Trader looked. 

"Miss Jade?" The doctor tried to get her attention. "Can you hear me?" 

Chin quivering from the shock of the cold ice, Mara nodded. 

"Just a few more minutes, Miss Jade and we will get rid of the ice. We have to get your temperature under control.

"S-sk-skywalker..." Her voice was quiet.

"I'm right here Mara." Luke approached her bedside after receiving a nod of approval from Dr. Torlov. 

"I n-need a f-favor." She shivered through the words.

"Of course," he replied easily. "Anything."

"It's getting harder to tell what's real. Find LaRone. He'll know what to do." Her speech began to slur and he wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly.

"LaRone?" He questioned. "As in the storm trooper from Poln Major? What does he have to do with any of this? And what do you mean?"

"P-please, Luke. T-tell him...tell him that they are coming for me." Her eyes drifted shut as she whispered the last part. 

"Who is coming? Mara?!"

But she was already gone; back into the realm of unconsciousness. Luke spared a confused glance back at one pale faced Talon Karrde. Things just kept getting worse.

\---

Luke was forced to return to the waiting room alongside Karrde while Mara rested. It was then that he realized the Trader hadn't uttered a single word.

"It's good that you are here." Luke shuffled his feet. "I should have contacted you."

"It's alright. I'm just glad she wasn't alone. I'll stay here a while, in case something changes." He took a seat and pulled out a datapad. 

"Of course. If you don't mind I'd like to look into finding a way to contact LaRone. I may know someone who can help, I just don't understand why Mara would need to contact him at a time like this. So many things aren't adding up here." 

"Ah yes, the storm trooper responsible for the creation of the Hand of Judgement. Mara spoke of them once. From what I gathered they were willing to aide her in several compromising situations and she formed a sort of kinship with them. I didn't ask for details and she never offered them up." Karrde looked deep in thought for a moment before looking back up at Luke.

"You have my resources at your disposal, should you need them"

Luke nodded in respect to the man. 

"Thank you. I'll be in touch."

\---

Mara found herself in a hidden passageway deep inside the Imperial palace. She was beginning to welcome these hallucinations; at least she didn't feel anything in this alternate plane.

There was no one else around, as usual, but she could feel a deep pulse coming from the heart of the underground tunnel system and felt the strange pull towards it. She passed through secret access panels, providing the necessary clearance codes without much thought. Just like she used to when he was still alive. 

\---

A tall brunette, one of the nurses attending to Mara, stood at her bedside as she pulled a comlink from her pocket. Inputting a frequency she began to relay a message.

"The drugs are working sir." A sinister grin took over her otherwise soft features. "Tell the boys that Imperial codes are on the menu for tonight." She held out a device and pressed the button to record as Mara, in her drugged and feverish state began to recite codes from a previous life.

 

"K-11-3742-Delta, Auric-Triaxis-Cortosis-Hapisphere, 874429563314390..."

\---


End file.
